Ying and Yang
by Year of the Peacock
Summary: "The peacock shall rule once more under the partnership of the warrior of black and white, and it shall be glorious." What if the Soothsayer had conveyed ANOTHER prophesy to Shen before the capture of Po and the Furious Five? Shen/Po
1. Chapter 1

**Once more, my hardon for weird-ass pairings overcame my common sense, and this was born... **

**What if the Soothsayer had conveyed another vision of the future to Shen before the capture of Po and the Furious Five? If 'the Warrior of Black and White' could be the key to Shen's ultimate potential instead of downfall? If Lord Shen had other plans for Po?**

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><p>Lord Shen strolled into the throne room of his ancestral home, taking no heed of the two gorilla minions that towed his prized cannon behind him, his eyes trained on the beautifully elaborae golden throne before him. As other minions tore down hanging scrolls and tapestries around them, he walked up the platform the throne rested upon.<p>

"My father's throne..." he murmured to himself, a sarcastic nostaliga creeping into his voice and eyes. "He used to let me play here beside him...promising someday...this throne would be mine." A hard glint of insane light sparked in his eye before he darted forward, executing a swift flying kick that sent the elaborate throne right through the window to go crashing to the ground. By his instruction, the large, heavy cannon took its place, and Shen mused to himself aloud about China bowing before him before turning to the Soothsayer who sat nearby.

"...Now, you old goat," he said, smirking at her, "why dont you tell me my- "

" -Fortune?" she finished.

"...Future," Shen corrected, feeling the onset of horrible nostalgia. "I was going to say future." He stepped forward. "Look into your bowl and tell me what glory awaits."

The Soothsayer picked up her bowl and scrutinized it pensievely. "...If you continue on your current path," she intoned, looking off into the non-space, "you will find yourself..."

Shen eyed her shrewdly, with bated breath.

"...At the bottom of the stairs."

The peacock paused, looking down and indeed seeing that he was now at the bottom of the platform. He gave her an exasperated and irritated huff and continued to stalk forward. The Soothsayer looked back into her bowl to continue scrying.

"I see...I see..." Shen leaned forward, his eyes hungrily searching out something to see.

"I see pain." The Soothsayer reached out and plucked a feather from his wingtips, making Shen yelp. "And anger." With a quick bite, she tore a small section of his robe off with her teeth, admittedly swallowing a bit before putting the small piece in the bowl with the feather.

"How DARE you!" Shen squawked, jerking his robe back and examining it. "That is the finest silk in the province- !"

"...Followed by denial," the Soothsayer continued, obviously amused. Shen's eye twitched a few times.

"ENOUGH of this!" he snapped. "This is not fortune-telling! You're just saying what's happening right -!"

" -Now?" Shen fought down the overwhelming urge to strangle her and heaved a heavy sigh of irritation. The Soothsayer only gave him a small smile and gestured to her bowl. "The most important time IS now," she said, picking up a small bit of powder. "But if you REALLY want to see the future..." She threw the powder into the bowl, where it sparked brightly and emitted illuminated smoke.

Shen's eyes practically glowed with poorly-veiled desire. "...Oh, what do you see...?" he murmured.

The smoke rose and twisted itself into a clearly-visible figure- "A peacock," the Soothsayer confirmed as the smoke twisted itself into another shape, a ying-yang. "...Is defeated by a warrior of black and white." She glanced up at him. "Nothing has changed."

Shen's hopeful expression melded into rage, and his wing snapped sharply to bring a blade to his wingtips in full preparation to smash that accursed bowl to pieces, when the Soothsayer's surprised gasp made him pause.

The ying-yang's figure then changed so it seemed to sprout a set of white peacock plumage, and the combined symbols became something of a backdrop against an image of Shen's ancestral tower. Her interpretive nature took over, and the words of the vision spoke almost against her own will.

"...The peacock shall rule once more..." she said, sounding almost incredulous, "...under the partnership of the warrior of black and white..." The image glowed even more brightly. "...And it shall be glorious..." With that, the smoke vanished, taking the images with it.

Silence rung in the throne room for the longest time, then Shen took a menacing step forward.

"What does this mean?" he hissed, the tips of his wings quivering with an unfamiliar emotion; a strange mix of rage, shock, and suspense. "WHAT does this...this vision MEAN!"

The Soothsayer stared into the space where the images had just been, then looked at Shen, who was glaring unblinking at her in a demand for answers. "...It means, Lord Shen..." she replied, surprised herself at the revelation of it all, "...that you have a choice to make."

Shen's eye twitched violently. "WHAT choice, Soothsayer?" he growled. "WHAT are you talking about?"

The Soothsayer stood up, looking Shen right back in the eye. "The choice between victory or defeat," she said. "The choice that will define what future will come to pass."

"Speak some SENSE, you senile old goat!" Shen snapped, starting to pace from agitation.

The Soothsayer gave him an exasperated sigh and stare, shaking her head. "...Both of these futures, Lord Shen, are sure to happen. Which one that comes to pass depends entirely on you, and- "

" -And this choice, yes, I GET that!" Shen cut in sharply. "I'm ASKING you what exactly this choice IS!"

The Soothsayer was silent for a few moments before answering. "...I told you, thirty years ago, and again just now, that if you carry on this path of destruction that you have chosen, then the warrior of black and white, a panda, will bring your demise."

Shen opened his beak to contradict, but the Soothsayer kept speaking.

"However...if you change your path..." She gave him a knowing, imploring look. "...Then you will achieve a glorious rule." She paused, contemplating, it seemed, on her choice of words. "...Your path will diverge between making the panda your enemy...or making him your partner. Your equal."

She was cut off when Shen's wing snapped out, a blade shooting out to shatter her bowl as previously intended. More silence rang throughout the room, and the gorillas began vacating for fear of their lives. Shen and the Soothsayer had a stare-off, the peacock's breath coming in rapid, furious heaves, and the goat's composure calm and mild.

"Ridiculous!" Shen hissed dangerously, his pupils constricting with panic. "It's RIDICULOUS!" He began pacing again, gesturing wildly with his wingtips as he spoke. "You are WRONG, Soothsayer! There ARE no more pandas! Your visions are nothing more than- !"

" -Truth, Lord Shen." The Soothsayer kept her firm stare on him. "In my lifetime, I have made one thousand, sixty-nine predictions. And in my lifetime, one thousand, sixty-eight have come true." Her stare turned hard. "I have never been wrong, Lord Shen. So you MUST believe me when I say that what you make of the panda will determine whether you will be victorious, or fall completely from grace."

Shen continued his frantic pacing. "There...are...no...pandas...!" he kept biting out in furious hisses. "...This vision...it's IMPOSSIBLE...!" He flicked his red eyes at her. "...And you know it!"

"It is NOT impossible," the Soothsayer shot back, nodding to the stairs. "And HE knows it."

Just at that moment, the Wolf Boss came running up, out of breath. "Lord Shen- !" he gasped. "I saw a panda!"

Shen felt his breath constrict sharply. "...A panda...!" He rushed forward and pinned the wolf to the floor in a demand for an explaination.

"A...a kung fu warrior! It fought like a demon! Big and furry...soft squishy..." Shen's eye twitched; the wolf never stayed on topic for long. "...Kind of plush and cuddly..."

Shen's talons tightened over the wolf's throat to cut off the rambling. "...There...are...no...more...pandas...!" he growled, sounding almost desperate at this point. Soothsayer rolled her eyes and tapped at the wolf with her walking stick.

"Even with HIS poor eyesight, he can see the truth," she stated, giving him an imploring look. "Why is it that you cannot?"

It was all he could do not to have a mental breakdown right there in the throne room. A panda. A panda had survived and was HERE. A panda that was a kung fu WARRIOR. Oh, this was bad. This was bad, this was bad. ALL of his planning...the past thirty years had come crashing down around him with that one thrice-damned prophecy!

Make the panda his PARTNER? His EQUAL? It was as though the gods were LAUGHING at him, sending a panda here JUST when his dream was coming to fruition!

Yet according to the oh-so-infallible Soothsayer, his dream would lead to his demise. That path would lead to the panda being his enemy, and ultimately, the one to defeat him. What other path COULD there be, then?

...Unless...

A seed of thought began to sprout in his mind; an idea that was just insane enough to work. He looked back down at the wolf, his talons squeezing just hard enough to catch his attention.

"Bring him to me," he hissed. "Alive, and unharmed." He let the wolf go. "GO!"

As the wolf scurried back down the stairs, he saw the surprised look on the Soothsayer's face and bit down a smirk.

See how that old goat would take his 'partnership' with the damned panda. She would regret that vision soon enough.

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><p><strong>Reviews, plz! And no rotten food tossed at my head, those hurt.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Shen paced around the throne room, having very little to do to amuse himself before his wolves brought the panda to him. Also, he had to do SOMETHING somewhat productive to ignore the inquisitive and accusing stares the Soothsayer was giving him. The old goat hadnt stopped with the suspicion since he had sent the Boss Alpha out, and it was getting extremely irritating.

The only bright side to his pacing was it gave him time to think of how to spin the situation to his own advantage; how to get the panda to agree with his plan. There had to be some kind of leverage he could use against him.

Blackmail, yes, but that was such a dirty word. 'Persuasion' was much better.

"What is it you're planning, Shen?"

Shen's contemplative zen was interrupted by yet ANOTHER inquiry by the annoying Soothsayer. His long train shuddered with agitation as he shot her a glare.

"I do not believe that is any of your concern," he sniffed. "As I recall, you were EAGER for me to 'take another path', as your vision put it." He sauntered over to the still-broken window and glanced out for the thousandth time to see if the wolves were on their way back. "What path ASIDE from the one you tried to dissuade me from is really any business of yours?"

The Soothsayer's eyes narrowed. "What do you have planned for that panda, Shen?" she asked, a demanding undertone steeping her voice. Shen rolled his eyes, scoffing.

"Dont you have someone ELSE to annoy?" he asked, glancing back out the window, his red eyes flashing when he saw the wolves moving toward his palace, with captives in tow. "Marvelous..." He straightened himself up, his feathered train shuddering again, this time with anticipation, then shot the Soothsayer a 'look'. "I trust you'll keep certain DETAILS to yourself," he threatened, a sharp glint appearing from the sleeve of his silk robe before it vanished.

The Soothsayer narrowed her eyes, but said nothing. The two of them turned to the stairwell, waiting for the wolves to bring the panda to him.

...And waited.

It did NOT take this long to climb the bloody stairs, Shen thought to himself, before he caught the sound of heavy footsteps making their way up from about two flights down. Anticipation turned to trepidation as he waited, and his trepidation turned to an odd mix of confusion and exasperation when he saw one of his gorilla minions CARRYING a panda to the top floor.

The gorilla dumped his burden on the floor, obviously displeased with having to carry the panda. Shen stared, dumbfounded, at the unexpected visitor as the panda made some comment about vomiting on the third floor before he collected himself and stepped forward.

"Greetings, panda," he began formally. "We meet at l- "

"Hey, how you doing?" the panda replied offhandedly, startling Shen for a moment.

"...Hey..." Shen said, giving him a stare filled with mild disgust at the panda's blasé response. It was then that he noticed that his guards had brought not just the panda, but five other animals. He shot a glare at the Boss Wolf. "I said bring the PANDA," he hissed. "Who are THEY?"

"Kung fu warriors, my Lord," the wolf replied with a gulp. "...They were with him."

Shen sighed, feeling a migraine coming on, and turned to the panda, who was looking around like he was expecting to see something. "Panda," he stated, getting said panda's attention. "I wish a word with you."

The panda blinked mid-rant about something or the other and stared. "...Er...what?" he asked, giving Shen a confused look. "...Look, buddy, I'm here to stop some crazy guy named Shen from destroying kung fu with some weapon. I aint got time to 'have a word'..."

Shen's eye twitched. Was the panda REALLY this stupid? REALLY?

"THIS is the warrior destined to defeat me?" he actually found himself musing out loud, not knowing if he should laugh or scream in an undignified manner. He was saved from having either done when the Soothsayer stepped forward and began to look the panda over.

"...You've grown up bigger than I thought," she said, prodding him. "Strong...healthy..." She looked pleased for some reason.

The panda pulled away. "Look, I dont know who you are, but please stand aside, Sir..."

The snake next to the panda prodded him and whispered, "That's a lady!"

"Oh, sorry!"

By this point, Shen was about ready to start slitting a few throats from the sheer desire to kill something. "ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE!" he snapped, pointing to Po. "You, panda! We shall speak now. PRIVATELY."

The panda looked about ready to retort when Shen lost his patience, shooting forward and snapping a blade into his hand, the point poised right between the panda's eyes. "We shall speak. NOW."

The panda looked nervously between the tip of the blade and Shen a few times. "...Yeah, sure, okay," he said in a small voice.

That was more like it. Shen withdrew the blade, ignoring the look of pure wrath the lady tiger was giving him, and gestured for Po to follow him, which was to the stairs again. "Secure the other five," he told the guards en route.

"Hey, dont you dare hurt them!" the panda spoke up, now glaring at Shen with ready defiance should any of the other five be harmed. Shen glared back before his expression lightened; ah, he thought. The leverage.

"Very well, panda," he said, then reiterated to the wolves and gorillas, "secure them, but make sure no harm comes to them." He turned back to the panda. "Follow me."

"Ugh, stairs...!" The panda continued to complain for two flights before Shen made it to the room he was looking for; something of a council room Shen's father used to use for visiting dignitaries, but now had little use. He ushered the panda in and shut the door behind them.

"Please, sit," he said as hospitably as he could manage. The panda glanced around at the seating options before sitting down on a padded bench.

"Um..." he began oh-so-intelligently, "...what exactly am I doing here? I mean...arent you like...trying to destroy us, or something?"

Shen took a seat of his own, steepling the tips of his wings. "Normally, yes," he replied. "I had initially intended to destroy you, your friends...all kung-fu warriors, really." He smirked at the hard glint of anger that glimmered in the panda's green eyes. "However...things have...changed."

Silence. The panda just stared, blinked a few times, and stared some more.

"...Yeeeeeah," he finally drew out. "...I dont get it. WHAT exactly changed?"

Shen sighed, forcing himself to have patience with the ingrate. "If you want to get technical," he replied, "you."

"What?"

"YOU have changed my plans, panda." Pause. "Or rather, you have the opportunity to change my plans. Without bloodshed even, now how about that?"

"Okaaaaaay," the panda replied, as though Shen was the slow one. "How?" He stiffened slightly when Shen pulled out one of his feather-shaped blades and casually contemplated it.

"With a simple choice," the peacock said, taking a small pleasure in using the Soothsayer's little game against someone else for a change. "The choices are rather simple, really, and there are only two to choose from." He spun the blade around a few times. "The first choice is, you choose to defy me, fight me, and make me your enemy, and I kill you, your friends, and whomever else associates closely with you, and I bring China to its knees with my weapon."

He tossed the blade up in the air and caught it, repeating the motion several times to add onto the suspense.

"The OTHER choice is, you remain here, with me, as my partner in any sense of the word, I give the majority of my weapons over to your fellow kung fu warriors to dispose of -of course keeping one or two for myself, just in case- and your friends live." He caught the blade the final time, pinning the panda in place with his red stare. "Simple, no?"

The panda was openly gaping, obviously stunned with those 'choices'. "WHAT?" he finally shouted, jumping to his feet. "Are you INSANE! You expect me to just drop EVERYTHING back home and stay here to be whatever-it-is, with NO guarantee you'll- !" He was cut off when Shen shot forward and pinned the panda to his back, his talons clenched around what it could reach around the panda's thick neck, the blade once more poised between his eyes.

A stare-off ensued, Shen's eyes filled with resolve and the panda's with confusion and fear. Shen's eyes narrowed, bringing his face closer to the panda's. "Let me make this PERFECTLY clear," he whispered loudly, the tip of his blade touching the panda's skin. "Either you stay here as my partner...consort, we'll say..." He ignored the panda's eyes going wider. "...Or you can watch your friends DIE by my weapon. Your choice, panda."

The panda continued to gape up at him, his eyes filtering through several emotions that ran the gamut of fear, anger, and indecisiveness before settling on defeat. Internally, Shen knew he had won.

"...F...fine..." the panda said, clenching his eyes shut. "...I'll do it. Just let my friends go..."

Shen smiled and withdrew the blade and his person from the panda, slipping the blade back into his sleeve. "Very well, then," he said, reaching forward and taking the eight-point acupressure cuffs from the panda's wrists. "I'll go inform the others that they are free to go." He turned to leave the room.

"Your word."

Shen paused and turned back to see the panda giving him a stern glare.

"I want your word you'll keep your end of the deal. Break it, and I'll break you. I SWEAR it."

More silence and staring, then Shen nodded. "Of course," he replied, though not happy with the threat the panda had given him, having been horribly reminded of what the first prophesy depicted. Before he left, he paused by the door. "By the way, panda," he said, "what is your name?"

That seemed to catch the panda off-guard for a moment. "...Po," he said. "...Xiao Po."

Shen needlessly contemplated the name before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Your reviews are much appreciated, everyone! So sorry for the delay, but here you go!**

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><p>Shen took his time walking back up to the throne room, keeping the insidious smirk on his face to a minimum. He honestly couldnt believe how EASY this had been, to have things go his way. His biggest obstacle, to be rid of the other kung fu warriors, was an easy one to overcome; all he had to do was point them in the direction of his collection of cannons and let them dispose of the weapons at their leisure, keeping his largest and most powerful to himself, naturally.<p>

It seemed to be a fair trade, really. They came to stop him from using his weapon, and so they shall; in return for the panda. Easy, too easy.

Shen walked into the throne room, noticing the five kung fu warriors' intense glares and getting a sense of smug satisfaction of the fact. "Greetings, kung fu warriors," he addressed them for the first time, giving them a mocking nod of the head. "Welcome to my most HUMBLE abode, and apologies for your incarceration- "

"Where's Po?" the tigress interrupted, her hands twitching in the cuffs. "What have you done with him!"

Shen turned his beak up at her. "How rude," he muttered. "I was JUST getting to that..." He shook his feathers out from agitation and recomposed himself. "As I was saying, I apologize for your incarceration, and I am here to say that I have..." He thought about what he wanted to say before going the simple route. "...Changed my mind."

The looks on the kung fu warriors' faces was priceless, so much so Shen actually had to struggle to keep a straight face.

The tigress got over her shock first and growled at him. "You expect us to believe that you just 'changed your mind'?" she demanded. Shen gave her a smirk.

"Yes," he replied. "Because I have." He motioned for the guards to take off their cuffs. "You see, my dear, the panda and I have come to an agreement of sorts, and offered something in return for the weapons." He paced over to the window and gestured to an adjacent building nearby. "In that building is my weapon collection. It is yours to do with as you please." He then pointed to the large cannon in the room with his wingtip. "THIS one, on the other wing, will stay with me."

The serpent flexed her body loose from the cuff's restraints and glared at him. "Where is Po?" she too questioned, the others mirroring her glare. Shen couldnt resist rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"He's not dead, if that's what you're concerned about," he scoffed in reply. "As I have said, we came to an agreement- "

"What kind of agreement?" the tigress bit out, clenching her fists tightly. "We wont have it if you hurt him- !"

"NOT that it's any of your concern," Shen sneered right back, "but we agreed that he trade himself for the weapons. Simple as that."

Confused silence settled among the kung fu warriors for the briefest of moments, then the monkey spoke up. "Why would he trade himself? What do you want with him?"

Shen's smirk broadened as he paced in front of them, both enjoying and finding annoyance in their persistence to get answers. "The panda- "

"His NAME is PO," the tigress snarled. Shen's train shuddered and flexed in agitation of being interrupted yet AGAIN.

" -PO, then," he snarled right back. "PO is, at present, the one and ONLY alternative to complete and utter annihilation of kung fu and all those who choose to fight with it!" His plumage flared up threateningly. "HE has already agreed to trade himself in return for peace, and the safety of you five. However..." A blade was unsheathed from under his sleeve, its silvery glint making its threat evident. "...If you continue to irritate me with your questions and threats, then that particular term of the agreement will be annulled, and believe me when I say that I will not shed a tear over your shed blood. Understood?"

More silence as the peacock and the five kung fu warriors had an intense stare-off.

After a few tense moments, Shen relaxed his plumage and straightened up, slipping the blade back up his sleeve. "I have already given my word to the pan...Po...that I would let you free, and that I would give you my weapons for you to dispose of at your leisure. However, I wont have you loitering in my city, so you have one day to do it before I'll have you FORCEFULLY evicted." He gave them a pleasant, yet creepy smile. "Have I made myself perfectly clear?"

The five just stared at him, mixed degrees of shock and anger on their faces. "Good." He jerked his head to the stairs. "Now get out."

It was the longest time before the five kung fu warriors began to trudge off one by one, starting with the crane and ending with the tigress, who gave Shen the evillest of evil eyes.

"If you hurt him," she said softly with barely-restrained fury, "I will kill you."

Shen only smirked. "You're more than welcome to try," he replied just as softly. "Lucky for both of us it wont come to that, now isnt it?" He jerked his head to the stairs again. "Go."

She glared at him for a few moments more before going down the stairs, leaving Shen alone in the room.

The peacock stood alone in the room in silence for the longest time, hardly believing how EASY it just was to turn the fates to his favor. Everything was going perfectly to plan.

...So far, anyway; the hardest part, getting the panda to trust him and rule with him, was still yet to come.

Ah, well. He would cross that bridge when he came to it.

"Shen."

That odd twitch he had developed in his right eye recently returned when he heard the Soothsayer address him. "Oh, what NOW, old woman!" he groused, not deigning to look at her, but knowing she was barely his train's length from him.

"...The Tigress has a point I agree with, Shen," she said, a razor's edge to her voice. "You have caused that panda enough suffering as it is, and you will hurt him further over my dead body."

"Dont tempt me," Shen muttered under his breath. "I've already promised his well-being to those nuisances, and under your annoyingly close scrutiny, I'm SURE the panda shan't suffer more than he absolutely must."

Though he remained staring out the window, he could feel the Soothsayer's glare on his back.

And for some reason, it sent a shudder through his feathers; however, he shook the ominous sense of doom off and went back to ignoring her.

He already had the panda, who had agreed to his demands, and as long as the mahjong chips were played right, everything would go according to plan. He would have his glory, and would not have to suffer the agony of defeat.

...So why did he still have the niggling feeling that something was soon to go wrong?


End file.
